Pre-publication version Presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Western Region of North America – International Plant Propagators’ Society, October 17-20, 2017, Wilsonville, Oregon, USA The hordes: emerging pest threats to plants in the Western U.S. Robin Rosettaa Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, North Willamette Research and Extension Center, 15210 NE Miley Road, Aurora, Oregon 97002, USA. Numerous studies have shown that movement of horticultural products is a frequent pathway for invasive pests. This knowledge suggests there is an awesome responsibility that comes with moving plants from place to place. When it comes to new pests, the nursery industry is both at risk and a risk. Those propagating plants play a key role in the prevention and detection of invasive plant pests. Growers need to regularly update their knowledge of new exotic species risks as the topic of invasive species is dynamic with frequent changes. Scrutiny of nurseries by the government, public, and industry will continue to tighten. This paper highlights a few of the emerging invasive species of concern in the western U.S. EMERGING INVASIVE PESTS Hemerocallis gall midge, daylily gall midge (Contarinia quinquenotata) The Hemerocallis gall midge is thought to have originated from Asia. It was detected in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2001, and found in the state of Washington in 2007. In Washington, there are reports of this pest in Whatcom, Skagit Valley, Bellevue, Everett, Granite Falls, and the Puget Sound area (Rosetta, 2017b). The Hemerocallis gall midge overwinters in the soil. The adult midge emerges from the soil and begins to lay eggs on the developing daylily buds in the late spring and early summer, usually from May through June. Tiny white maggots hatch from these eggs and can be found feeding within (and sometimes outside) the daylily buds. Feeding by the maggots on developing lily buds causes distorted growth. Buds become swollen and discolored. Damage may cause buds to shrivel and not completely form. Blossoms from affected buds are deformed and often have crinkled petal edges. Cultural management has relied on avoidance of early-blooming varieties (particularly yellow- colored varieties) and removal and disposal (but not in compost) of infested daylily buds. Bringing in only bareroot plants, a strategy used with a similar midge, the rose midge (Dasineura rhodophaga), might help to reduce the risk of introduction of this midge via bringing in plants with the soil-based stages of the insect. Chemical management generally is timed to protect the new buds during the time adult midges lay eggs. Both contact and systemic insecticides have been used. A report by Halstead (2017) on insecticide management of Hemerocallis gall midge is available at the Royal Horticultural Society website. Allium leafminer, onion leafminer (Phytomyza gymnostoma) The Allium leafminer is a key pest of concern for Allium spp. (such as garlic, leek, and onion). It was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2015. Allium leafminer infestations have been found in Pennsylvania in 17 counties, in three New Jersey counties, and may have been found in one county in New York (Oregon Department of Agriculture, 2017a). Native to Germany and Poland, the Allium leafminer is now distributed more widely in Europe and more recently reported in Asia, Turkey, and Russia. This pest is considered a threat to Oregon’s $125 million onion industry. The fly pupates within bulbs, including bulbs with no vegetative growth, which increases the risk of importation. Greatest risks are associated with importing from any infested area. The USDA has deregulated this aE-mail: [email protected] -1- new pest, and Oregon is considering a quarantine on Allium from infested states. The Oregon Department of Agriculture intends to eradicate this pest if it is detected. The Allium leafminer affects both ornamental species as well as native species of Allium. Economic hosts include onions, garlic, shallots, and green onions, with leeks and chives as preferred hosts. Larval feeding causes curled and twisted leaves. Small plants can succumb to larval feeding. Severe infestations can result in complete crop failure. Allium leafminers overwinter as pupae. There are two predicted generations. The spring generation occurs when adults emerge from the soil after overwintering and lay their eggs at the base of leaf stems, generally from March through April and possibly May. These larvae feed and eventually pupate and remain in diapause through the summer until fall, September to October, when adults emerge and lay eggs of the second generation. The larvae from these eggs emerge, feed, and then pupate to overwinter. Damage from the Allium leafminer is most apparent as lines of feeding scars or punctures made by the female and the curling leaf damage from larval feeding. Adults are gray flies about 3 mm (1/8 inch) long with yellow heads, dark eyes, and yellow markings on the sides of their abdomen. Larvae are maggots and yellowish-to-white up to 8 mm (5/16 inch) long. They mine the leaf stalks toward the base of each leaf. They then pupate at the end of the mine, sometimes down in the bulb. The pupal stage is red to brown in color and approximately 3.5 mm (a little over 1/8 inch) long. Some states may, like Oregon, choose to eradicate this pest if detected. Rutgers and Penn State have some cultural (row covers) and chemical management recommendations for both conventional and organic vegetable growers in the mid-Atlantic area (Rutgers, 2017; Fleischer and Elkner, 2016). Japanese flower thrips (Thrips setosus) Japanese flower thrips were first detected in a nursery in Michigan in 2016. Hostas from this nursery were shipped to nurseries throughout the U.S. Since then the pest has been detected in Rhode Island, Minnesota, Oregon (one location, under eradication), and possibly Colorado (not confirmed) (Oregon Department of Agriculture, 2017b). APHIS is no longer regulating this pest. Japanese flower thrips feed on plants in at least 14 plant families. They are fond of Solanaceous hosts, such as tomato, pepper, and eggplant. A partial list of hosts includes: camellia, chrysanthemum, cucumber, dahlia, hellebore, hosta, hydrangea, impatiens, iris, petunia, poinsettia, soybean, and strawberry. The list of hosts also includes several weed species, such as thistle and sow thistle (Vierbergen and Loomans, 2016). This pest can be a vector of tomato spotted wilt virus. It can survive year-round in greenhouses and outdoors in USDA plant hardiness zones 4 to 11, which includes all of Oregon. Their damage, seen as silvery streaks and spots and deformed leaves, is similar to damage caused by other thrips. Although called a flower thrips, this species is actually a leaf feeder and does not eat pollen. Adult females are dark brown with a pale color on the basal quarter of the wing. Adult males are yellow and difficult to distinguish by non-experts. Their initial detection in Michigan was due to a thrips biocontrol program failure. An Oregon Department of Agriculture fact sheet has a list of insecticides that are known to be effective. OTHER PESTS TO KEEP ON YOUR RADAR Greenhouse thrips (Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis) We are also concerned about introduced pests moving into natural areas. Greenhouse thrips have been found in damaging numbers on salal (Gaultheria shallon) in landscapes and natural areas in Oregon and Washington. Greenhouse thrips are not just greenhouse pests (Rosetta, 2017a). Greenhouse thrips adults generally have dark-colored heads and thoraxes with a dark or orange abdomen. Larvae are light-colored with red eyespots. Damage from greenhouse thrips on salal resembles that of azalea lace bug, with silvering of the leaves and fecal spotting. Entire plantings can have a white or silver cast to them. Additional affected hosts in Washington and Oregon include viburnum, Oregon grape (Mahonia sp.), Pacific wax myrtle [Morella (=Myrica) californica], rhododendron, and native fern (Polystichum imbricans imbricans). -2- Rose stem borer (Agrilus cuprescens) Rose stem borer has been trapped in the Portland area (2015) and found in crops in southwest Washington (2014), as well as east of the Cascade Mountains. It was identified in caneberries (Rubus species) in August 2017 at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, Oregon. This beetle borer has the potential to cause damage to important plants in the Northwest, including caneberries and roses. A buprestid beetle, the rose stem borer feeds in the cambium and girdles the plant. Damage symptoms include swollen stems, sometimes with spiraling tunnels in evidence. These galls may have dark coloration or have more woody epidermis. Bark or stem cracking or splitting is often seen. Wilting of infested stems is common. Areas of the stems with beetle tunnels are weak and break easily. The adult beetles are small, copper-colored, and metallic with a bullet shape. The larvae are narrow, cream-colored and segmented with a large flat “head” (actually its pronotum). Adults are seen in the late spring and early summer (May through June) when they mate and lay eggs on roses and caneberries. Larvae hatch from these eggs and feed in the cambial area of the plant. The third instar larvae then move toward the pith of the stem. The beetles overwinter as a fourth instar larva. There is one generation per year. Management includes cultural controls, such as pruning and disposing of infested canes and reducing plant stress. Chemical controls are timed to protect plants during the emergence and egg- laying of the adults. This often overlaps with bloom, so caution must be taken to protect pollinators (Alston, 2015). Ash whitefly (Siphoninus phillyreae) Ash whitefly was first detected in the United States in California in 1988. They were noted in Oregon in 2014. In the late summer and early fall, they can noticeably swarm as they search for preferred evergreen hosts on which to overwinter.